


Blue Eyes and Ballads

by roseprincess2018



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Trigger warnings : War time, Vietnam, some depictions of blood and violence.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-29 20:47:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20088523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseprincess2018/pseuds/roseprincess2018
Summary: War Stories with The Spine  meeting someone that has a connection to an old friend.





	Blue Eyes and Ballads

Notes: This is a birthday gift for a friend of mine, gratuitous OC insertion of an oc based off her. She told me a story and it inspired this. I hope she gets to read it soon. Don't own spg.. they belong to the bennetts.  
This has some feels so be warned.  
RP  
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Location:   
Vietnam November 4th 1965 Charley Company Division of 173rd Airborne Brigade

Black lips quirked up in a small smile and he grinned at the young man across from him. The other person in the group with Green Beret qualifications.  
Granted Spine considered the young man much more of a soldier than himself. He had simply had the training downloaded into him. This boy had gone out and survived it and then came on to this war torn nation to serve his country.  
Due to that the two of them were often partnered with each other, resulting in the blond haired blue eyed young man getting the nickname "Little Man."  
Because even six one of green beret looked tiny compared to Spine's massive seven feet silvery bulk. A tiny bit of humor in a war that seemed to last without end.  
Tonight they knew that there was a possibility of a MASSIVE offensive on the horizon. So he and his brothers, and the rest of Charley company, sat around a massive bonfire and discussed what they wanted to do when they got home. 

"What about you Little Man?" Spine asked, "What do you want to do when the war is over and you get to go home??"

The young man blushed and looked away embarrassed to share his personal feelings. Spine thought for a second about the beautiful drawings he'd seen the young man do on scraps of paper from time to time and felt compelled to make a guess. 

"Lemme guess, " The silver automaton grinned, "you wanna be a world famous artist. You wanna go work for walt disney or something right?"

The young man blushed harder but finally shook his head, "Nah Spi'. " He replied, "Art's just a hobby. The boy that wanted to do art stayed back in Kentucky. "

"Oh Something bigger then?" one of the other soldiers named Gross chimed in.

"Nah," The blond man shrugged, "Something simpler. Just a home, a wife. A family ."

Spine smiled ear to ear at that, "A son is a fine aspiration to have."

The young man's face fell and he shook his head again , "No Spi. I don't want a son. A son would be in danger of some day having to face, " He paused and waved his hand around indicating the war, the fighting, the battle, "This. " 

Spine watched as the blond young man got a look on his face that was very far away, maybe even looking at the future some where. 

"I want a lil girl, " Tears formed in the young man's eyes, "I want a lil angel that looks like my mom. That can grow up safe and happy, far far away from all of this. " 

Spine felt oil prick his own eyes at the young man's admission. The simple desire for a peaceful life some place far from here. Spine understood all to well. The times when he simply wanted to tell the nations government he no longer cared who won this godforsaken war, and take his friends and family and just go home. 

When he watched Jon cry with agony over each person he couldn't save, or rabbit go running headlong into another fire fight to try and pull these young men out. Or when he watched his own partner, the young man in front of him that he considered family, retch over and over again as the chemicals rained down. No The Spine knew that desire all to well and he didn't blame his human partner one bit. 

"that sounds like Heaven Little Man, " Spine smiled, "I hope you get it someday."

96 hours Later:

The jungle was on fire...  
Soldiers were on fire...  
It seemed to Spine that the very air itself was on fire.  
It had happened and now everyone tried desperately to survive and just live through this nightmare. An ambush that no one had been prepared for. So many dead and dying, so many that would never make it out or home.  
That was the misama Spine was in as he shoved his way through yet another burning wall of jungle towards the downed aircraft.  
The one he had seen his friend with the blue eyes board as a door gunner only a short while ago.  
As he pushed through he saw the mangled bodies of the other two people in the craft and was certain that he would find what was left of his friend there too. It was only when he heard a hoarse cry of pain that he stopped and started looking near the undercarriage of the craft.  
He found him there, both of his legs pinned and bleeding. His blue eyed young friend holding on for dear life with what lil strength he had left.  
Spine got the grip on the craft and with all of the power Peter Walter had built into him all those years ago, shoved the aircraft off the young green beret. 

"Little man!" He ordered, "Open your eyes and look at me Soldier! " 

The young man opened his eyes at the baritone bark and stared up at him.  
"S-spine... My...my legs..." He looked away, "I'm dying..."

"Hell no!" Spine snapped at him, "Hell no you are not dying on my watch Soldier! You get you natty tail up and get back to the company, " he reached down and pulled the young man's arm over his shoulders.

"I... I can't Spi, " He wheezed. Blue eyes closing in unbelievable pain, " Just lemme die Spine. I can't take this."

"NO," Spine told him sharply, " You have to live. You have a Lil angel out there waiting for you. Do you hear me? You have to go the hell home and make sure she's born. Got that soldier?!"

" Ok Spi.." The young man leaned on him then, "For my angel. "

54 Years later... Sometime in 2019

It was one of those meet and greets before a performance. Meet the fans and talk about the music. Listen to the squealing fangirls and simply smile for those he used his music to make happy.  
One of the things that The Spine enjoyed most about being a performer. It was usually the same so he was not expecting anything of a shock.  
That however was exactly what he got. A shock he got when a pair of delicate hands held out a complicated pencil drawing for him. It was a perfect rendition of himself right down to the shading on his fedora. He cracked a broad grin and looked up to stare into a pair of blue eyes that he thought he'd never see again. 

He froze for ten seconds and then proceeded to blurt out the nick name of someone long lost to him, "Little man?!!"

The red headed girl blinked and stared at him and Spine stared back. Those blue eyes and smile, he hadn't seen anything like them in fifty four years.  
"I... " She stopped and tried again , "I'm sorry. Ahh... " She made a face at him, "Did you know ..."little man?"  
Memories from a war torn land from long ago flooded through him for a second and the automatomic guitarist had to take a deep "breath" before he could continue.  
"Yes, " He replied, "A very long time ago. We were...."  
She suddenly seemed to come to a decision and nodded, "Green Berets.... I know."  
She reached into the messenger bag she had at her side and pulled out a photo. One of him in that ridiculous helmet and horrific sunglasses, standing next to a man that you couldn't tell had the same blue eyes as the girl, but had the same smile.  
"Spine Walter," She smiled again, "Right? My father told me about you. I ahh.. "she blushed," ... never realized my fave singer was my dad's old partner from the army until i got to dig through his effects.... My name's.."

"Angel," Spine finished, " I know." 

She smiled at him again, "Ahh.. I have to get to my seat, but I wanted to give you that. My dad would have wanted you to have it. He considered you family."  
Spine held the gifts and smiled at her, "Come talk to me again after the show? Id like to get to know you more."

She grinned, Little Man's grin," Id like that. " 

Then headed off into her seat.  
After a few moments of thought Spine turned and started talking to Rabbit. Revealing what he knew and that he wanted to do something for the daughter of his long lost best friend.  
Rabbit thought back to the military and smiled, then leaned in and whispered the perfect thing into his ear. 

An hour later into the show...

"Usually folks we don't go off script like this. " He looked around and saw her in the audience near the stage, "But we got the daughter of an american hero in the audience tonight and We thought he and all the others that might be out there deserved this..." 

Everyone was quiet for a moment and then Mike began the opening cords. Then The Spine paid tribute to his lost friend, the only way he knew how.  
''Fighting Soldiers from the sky  
Fearless men who jump and die  
Men who mean just what they say  
The brave men of the Green Beret...."


End file.
